


Gundam Gaiden: Launch!

by gundam-gaiden (astralfrontier)



Category: Golden Time, Gundam & Related Fandoms, Kimi ni Todoke | From Me to You, Mayo Chiki!, My Love Story!, Toradora!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-09-27 11:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10017098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralfrontier/pseuds/gundam-gaiden





	1. Crossroads

Crossroads was one of the oldest man-made structures in Earth orbit. When the Space Century calendar was inaugurated, marking the year SC 0001, celebrations on the station were broadcast across the world. 97 years later, it felt like any other well-established city. Citizens went to work at any number of stable, prosperous companies dotting the habitat's interior. Friends socialized at the familiar bars and restaurants in their neighborhoods. Parents sent their children to the same schools they attended in their youth.

Thus, when Banri Tada left home for the Crossroads spaceport on the first day of his new assignment, people who'd known him for years recognized him as his taxi drove by. Former classmates, teachers, shopkeepers, and neighbors would wave, or shout encouragements. A few even saluted, if they noticed his smartly-pressed RENEW Navy uniform.

The military complex embedded inside the spaceport wasn't marked with the friendly signs or landmarks familiar to civilian travelers. Banri found himself increasingly disoriented, facing a maze of green doors and jumbles of letters and numbers that designated what lay behind them. This wasn't good, especially for the new executive officer of a new ship.

He spotted the distinctive armband of Special Projects, like the one he wore, on the arms of two women walking at a good clip. One looked no older than a high schooler, while the other had a family resemblance suggested a mother or older sister. "They must know where they're going," he reasoned to himself. "I can just follow them."

The path took the women, and Banri, as far as the observation deck overlooking the Gold Base. First of its type, the new Pegasus-class spacecraft hung silently in the zero-gravity center of the spaceport. From Banri's perspective, the huge vessel was spinning slowly in place. From the ship's perspective, Banri would be the one spinning, as the colony and everything on it rotated to provide artificial gravity. It wasn't wise to look for too long lest you get dizzy, but the sight was entrancing. The ship was going to be his first command assignment, and his home for a long time to come.

Banri eventually returned his attention to his unwitting guides, only to find that they'd disappeared. Instead, he'd been joined by another Naval officer, a sharp-looking young man with black hair and blue eyes that contrasted against Banri's earthier brown and green coloration. He too wore a Special Projects armband.

Banri smiled and stuck out a hand in friendly greeting. Then the situation reasserted itself, and his eyes zeroed in on a rank insignia on the other's collar: OF-3, a Commander like himself. Banri managed to draw his hand up into a salute, just as the other man looked and snapped a surprised salute of his own. And then, to Banri's relief, he too offered a handshake.

"Commander Mitsuo Yanagisawa, Silver Base," the black-haired man announced.

"Commander Banri Tada, Gold Base." Then he laughed, gesturing at the viewport. "Isn't this the wrong ship for you?"

Mitsuo's brief look of panic almost made Banri laugh out loud, until he remembered his own predicament. "I'm lost," Mitsuo finally admitted. "And I'm trying to.. not run into.. a certain someone."

"I'm lost too. Alright! Let's go find our ships together."

The pair set off, laughing at each other and themselves.

* * *

Kinjiro Sakamachi nervously adjusted the RENEW Naval uniform he wore, and reseated his glasses out of unconscious habit. He stood in front of the airlock leading to Gold Base, his first posting since his enlistment. He asked himself if he felt ready. But he wasn't certain.

This hadn't been his idea. His father had been an important figure in RENEW, and his mother had suggested joining Special Projects rather than getting a civilian job. But the more he had thought about it, the more it had appealed to him. He'd be helping the people of Earth. What could be more worthwhile than that?

This was it. All he had to do was walk through that door, and-

"Big brother!"

Jiro froze up at the voice. Two women, both wearing the same uniform with the distinctive Special Projects armband, were coming right for him. No - a woman and a girl. Oh no.

"Kureha! Mom! Gotta go, sorry!" Jiro leaped for the airlock, and safety.

Inside the ship, he looked frantically around for a hiding place or an escape route. He'd studied the layout on the way here, but actually seeing it was different. But he'd paid particular attention to the deployment bays, because that's where he was assigned. It should offer lots of hiding spots. Good enough.

The ship had handles mounted on every wall for navigation in zero gravity. In theory, you could grab hold of one, and magnetic action would carry you safely to wherever you wanted to go. Jiro had never used them. Like all citizens of Crossroads, he had basic free-fall training, though. He kicked off the walls, heading in what he hoped was the right direction.

You could tell how old a spaceship was by whether you went up or forward to reach the bridge area. Older ships, like those used to colonize the Moon and the Lagrange points, were essentially up-and-down. You had rockets at the bottom, and when they fired, you'd be pushed downward. So it made sense to build vertically. Newer ships used the Minovsky levitation system that could allow a ship to float over a planet's surface without burning precious reaction mass. To ease the adjustment between planetary and orbital operations, they were built fore-and-aft like an airplane. During thrust in zero gravity, it was expected that most of the crew would be strapped in, or deploying outside of the ship anyway.

Gold Base was a Pegasus-class ship, with a resemblance to the mythical winged horse. Four deployment bays formed the "legs", while the bridge and superstructure had solar panels and radar reflectors that resembled the "wings". Jiro descended two levels. The corridor presented two options - port and starboard bays. But he spotted an even better option: the locker rooms, with separate changing areas for men and women. "They wouldn't dare follow me in here," he told himself, and opened the men's locker room door.

The door slid shut behind him with a satisfying "click". The locker room itself was almost entirely dark. He felt around for a light switch, unsuccessfully. But a rustling sound made it seem like somebody else was here. Was there another pilot? The ship was still docked, there should be no reason for anyone else to deploy. He heard something getting closer. What if it was a lost civilian? What about a saboteur? An animal?

Jiro kept groping for the light. But then his hand came to rest on something softer, rounder, and much fleshier than any light switch had any right to be. A high-pitched scream followed. Jiro's other hand found the light switch just in time to catch piercing blue eyes and an attractive face framed by orange hair. Then a fist landed, and he lost consciousness.

* * *

Banri and Mitsuo found the Gold Base first. Privately Banri felt like an idiot, but he was gratified by Mitsuo's amazed reaction to the ship. The pair took the zero-gravity magnetic system on a ride to the bridge, where Mitsuo continued voicing praise for the ship.

"First ship to have a Unified Minovski system. Engines, anti-radar, even the power plant! And you've got four bays, two for launching, two for recovering. Magnetic catapults. New-style particle beams…"

Banri laughed. "Are you a spaceship hobbyist?"

"No… well, yes, a little," admitted Mitsuo. "But Silver Base will be supporting Gold Base's operations, so of course I have to know everything about it. We're your spare parts depot, you know."

The admiring look on Mitsuo's face turned to one of abject horror. Banri, surprised at the change, turned around.

Approaching the pair was the most beautiful woman Banri had ever seen. Golden brown hair reaching toward her waist, flashing hazel eyes, and a figure that filled the Navy uniform. But it wasn't just her appearance. There was fire in her eyes. Her whole body moved with purpose. She was more alive than anyone he could remember meeting. When she threw a stack of papers directly at Mitsuo's face, Banri could only stand and watch.

"Reassignment? Reassignment! You knew how important this was to me. To us! We were going to serve together. Mitsuo, you liar!"

Mitsuo didn't meet her eyes. He managed as much of a salute as he could, under the circumstances, and Banri noted the OF-4 rank insignia on the newcomer's uniform. Whoever she was, she outranked both of them. He joined Mitsuo in a salute.

The woman, now aware of Banri's presence, straightened herself up and returned the gesture. "Captain Koko Kaga. RENEW Aerospace Navy. As of now, I'm in command of this vessel. Commander… Tada?"

Banri gulped. This beautiful woman knew his name? Well of course she does, he thought to himself. If she's the captain, she'd have to. "Uh, aye ma'am, Banri Tada."

"It's nice to meet you." The storm of anger had melted away, leaving a spring sweetness on her face. The pair shook hands.

Behind them, there was a grunt. "I'm heading back to Silver Base," Mitsuo said flatly.

Koko glared daggers at him. All her fury came back in an instant, pooling in her eyes and poisoning her voice. "Get this man off my ship," she ordered Banri, pointing at the back of Mitsuo's retreating head.

Once the two men stepped off the ship, Mitsuo finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess I owe you an explanation. We were childhood friends. She always followed me around. Got it in her head I was going to be her boyfriend, husband, something. When I joined RENEW, she came along. Said I'd never make it by myself."

"She's really sharp, though. That's why she outranks me despite joining the service later. But you're better off space-walking without a helmet than serving with her for a week."

Banri grinned weakly. "Well… I'm willing to wait and see. Besides, RENEW needs us, right?"

Mitsuo shrugged. "Reclaiming Earth's Natural Environmental Wonder. It sounds good. But now we're fighting the very people of Earth, the ones we're supposed to be helping. First them, now Koko. I'm grateful for a nice, quiet supply-ship assignment."

The pair navigated the corridors leading to Silver Base's dock. Banri parted ways with Mitsuo, smiling as the man disappeared into the ship's airlock. When he turned, he found a woman looking at him. A beautiful one, with short hair - much shorter hair, as Banri found himself unconsciously comparing her to Koko. But whereas the feeling of seeing his new Captain had left Banri smitten, the feelings he found himself experiencing for this woman were more complex, without an easy name like “attraction”.

He watched her as she pointed down at his hand. And he realized he had forgotten something. A salute! She returned it with a teasing smile. "Captain Nana Hayashida. Call me Linda, though. Banri?"

"Yes, uh, yes ma'am," he managed. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I was just getting to know your XO."

"Oh? Very good." She smiled again, her eyes following his own, watching his reaction expectantly.

Was there something he was supposed to say? Was there something wrong with his uniform? "I'm on Gold Base, so I guess we'll be seeing each other. I mean, our crews," he managed. "You're our supply ship."

"I know we are," she replied, and he realized how stupid he sounded, and instantly regretted it. But there was no judgement in her eyes, only amusement, and.. something else? "Alright then. Commander Tada, it was a pleasure. I'll see you." And with a wave, she breezed past him, into the airlock leading to Silver Base.

* * *

Koko was glad there was nobody else on the bridge. It left her enough time to get out a good cry over Mitsuo (after making sure the bridge doors were secured and locked), then make herself presentable again. She snapped her pocket compact shut.

"I made Captain without him," she told herself. "I got this posting without Daddy. When Mitsuo sees me ace this assignment, he'll come back. He has to."

She spent a few minutes exploring the bridge. Every console was new. The Pegasus class had been built in secrecy, using all-new philosophies of ship design. The crew was fresh out of basic training. And why not? Since everything else was such a radical departure from the norm, prior experience wasn't a prerequisite. For better or worse, her actions would be setting precedent for a generation of space officers. It was a sobering thought.

A chime sounded. Someone wanted access to the bridge. The security cameras showed a uniformed MP, escorting a civilian. Koko opened the door.

The civilian was a girl, a little younger than Koko, with black hair tied back with white ribbons into twin ponytails. She had bright eyes, a pleasing smile, a good figure, nice style - Koko stopped herself, recognizing a familiar feeling. _Mitsuo isn't here, I have nothing to be jealous about. Stop it._

The girl presented her paperwork. "Kanade Suzutsuki. I'm here to supervise the transfer of the NX-78 prototypes to Gold Base, and I'll be observing operations on behalf of my father."

Koko dismissed the MP, then began leafing through the documents. "General Suzutsuki is your father?" She looked up in surprise. "I thought…"

"You thought he'd send a man." Kanade's smile was still there, but ice had crept into her voice. "I've been with the NX-78 project since its inception. The older members of high command are convinced that only a man can stand up to the strain it puts on its pilots. They're wrong."

Koko didn't ask for elaboration about motives. This woman was going to be on the ship for the duration of the voyage, there would be time to feel her out. She changed tactics. "Why is it such a strain to pilot?"

Kanade shook her head. "The NX-78 mobile suit is all new. It's not like the RENEW eco-robots or our exoskeleton labor units. The interior is a hyper-fluidic ionic metamaterial. The system uses a combination of hydrostatics and electromagnetic fields to overcome the square-cube problem inherent in moving large masses. The control elements are attached to the skeleton, and slaved to a motion-capture system. The pilot operates the mobile suit by moving his - or her - own body. That's why it's fully humanoid in shape. It can move as fast as a human being, if that human were scaled up to 50 feet."

Koko processed this information carefully. The daughter of the man in charge of Special Projects could make her career. She could impress Mitsuo. It was important to make a good impression here. What would do that? Comprehension. Extrapolation. "If punctured, the interior fluid can leak? Can the NX-78 bleed?"

Kanade's widening smile told Koko she was on the right track. "Yes. There's a coagulant chemical embedded on the interior of the armor. If something breaks through, the coagulant is released to contain the leak. That sensation is relayed back to the pilot through the motion-capture system, like everything else. That is why it's a strain to use. Everything that this multi-ton metal machine feels, you feel. Everything that steel can endure, the pilot has to endure too. Your test pilots were chosen for their physical endurance. They'll be orienting themselves with my butler, who was also the prototype pilot during design."

Koko nodded approvingly. "I look forward to meeting this man. He must be very tough."

Kanade glanced down at her mobile device. She had gotten some kind of text. "I'd love to introduce him. For now, there's something that needs my attention."

* * *

Jiro came to consciousness. He was staring at an antiseptic white ceiling. He was on his back, in a bed. No - in a medical bay. He could feel the zero-gravity restraints keeping him in place, and the sensation of free-fall. He was still on the ship.

Then a face eclipsed the medical bay lighting. A pretty face, with long hair tied back into twin-tails framing it. A mischievous smile. "Lieutenant Kinjiro Sakamachi. Oh dear. Your vitals don't seem to be very good."

"Doc.. doctor?" Jiro still felt blurry. It was the blood loss. It had happened again.

"That's right," said the girl. "What happened to you?"

"I… there was someone in the mens' changing room, near… Hangar A.." Jiro struggled to remember. "A girl. A naked girl was in there."

"Oh? That sounds serious. What would a girl be doing in the men's locker room?" she asked.

"Not sure.."

The face drew back. Bright eyes stared down at Jiro. "You're absolutely certain it was a girl? Would you recognize her if you saw her face?"

The delicate features, the soft feeling.. Jiro felt his face burning red. "I'm pretty sure, yes."

"Oh dear, that's a shame." Jiro felt the zero-gravity straps tighten. "I'm afraid you can't be allowed to leave this ship alive. We'll have to escort you to the airlock and space you."

"Wait-- What?!" Jiro felt himself waking up. The girl he was speaking to wasn't in a doctor's uniform, or any kind of Naval uniform. She must have been a civilian. Not the one he saw (or felt) either. "Wait a minute, what's going on here?"

"The person in that changing room was Subaru Konoe, my test pilot. My _male_ test pilot, according to her RENEW security clearance paperwork."

Jiro focused on the face. Recognition finally came. "You're Kanade Suzutsuki. You're the project leader for NX-78."

Kanade nodded, and her smile warmed. "Thank you for not recognizing me as a General's daughter first. That's nice of you. And you lost more blood than Subaru's punch should account for. You were almost covered in it. Do you want to tell me about that?"

Jiro blushed still more. "I… I get like that. My body reacts when I touch a girl. That's how I was sure. My nose starts bleeding."

Kanade's voice became sympathetic, though her teasing smile suggested a different attitude. "My, my, that's awful for you. You know, hemophilia would be cause for dismissal from the Navy. Do you think your superiors ought to find out?"

Jiro froze up. "You… you're not going to tell them that, are you?"

"You're the test pilot for my prototype. I can tell them the truth, can't I?" Kanade asked innocently.

"I need this job," Jiro insisted, more forcefully than he meant to.

"And why is that?"

Jiro let out a sigh. "My mother and my little sister are both trained martial artists, specializing in grappling. I was their target practice for years. And the space colonies inherited Japanese culture. We Japanese are still ethnically dominant on Crossroads. People had to be polite when they're packed in so tightly. Whether it's an island or an O'Neill cylinder, it's the same. So our traditions came along with us. My name read in the Japanese style is…" He let it hang for a moment, pessimistically expecting the girl to get it.

"Sa-ka-ma-chi-kin-ji-ro.” Kanade spelled it out phonetically. “Chi-kin. The chicken who gets beat up by girls." The girl wiped his brow gently with one soft hand. "So you came here to prove yourself."

"That's right." Jiro, defeated, couldn't make eye contact.

Kanade withdrew her hand. "Japanese tradition isn't always good. RENEW high command expects very different things of male and female members. Very well. I'll make you a deal, Lieutenant. Keep Subaru's secret. I'll keep yours. And maybe we can help you get over your problem too."

Jiro experimentally flexed his limbs. He was still restrained. What was this girl's deal? "How would you do that?"

"By giving you positive experiences touching girls, of course," grinned Kanade. And she ran a fingertip down his cheek and drew her lips close to his, enough that he could feel the warmth of her breath entering his mouth. But she pulled back, straightened up, and left the sick bay, laughing all the way.

Jiro finally felt the straps being loosened. When he sat up, though, he found his rescuer wasn't Kanade. It was the girl from earlier. No, the girl pretending to be a man.

Her blue eyes were averted. Her hair was done up in a tight pigtail, in a way that a good-looking young man could reasonably manage. She was dressed in a conservative suit, the classy-but-subservient style he associated with butlers from watching movies, and in a way that managed to minimize any femininity her figure might have had. If Jiro hadn't known better, he could easily see her passing as an attractive, if effeminate, man. Which, of course, was apparently what she was doing. "Subaru Konoe. I'm the NX-78 prototype pilot. I'll be briefing you and Lieutenant Gouda. Pleased to meet you."

Jiro blushed, but bowed. "Lieutenant Jiro Sakamachi. Pleased to meet you too."

The pair found their awkward mutual silence broken by the ship-wide PA system.

"This is Captain Koko Kaga, to all RENEW personnel and civilians. There will be orientation at 1600 hours in Hangar B. If you have already come aboard, please stay aboard. If you have not reported to the bridge yet, please do so."

"I'd better go," said Jiro. "I should report in," suggested Subaru. Both spoke at the same time, then lapsed into thoughtful silence again.

_What am I going to do?_

* * *

Koko thumbed off the PA, then opened the sealed orders she'd received. The objectives list made her draw in a sharp breath.

"NX-78 Prototype Deployment. Mission objectives:"

"1. Verify combat-readiness of NX-78 mobile suit."

"2. Gather performance data for NX-78-2 autonomous unit."

"3. Extract enemy intelligence from Cmdr. Banri Tada."


	2. Misunderstandings

Two women, wearing the white Naval uniform of RENEW, and the distinctive armbands that marked them as members of its Special Projects division, prowled the dimly-lit hallways of the Crossroads space station and its military space dock. Today was the inaugural launch of the Gold Base, the first in its class of spacecraft. Special Projects had created the weapons system that it carried. But the pair couldn't find Jiro Sakamachi, its pilot.

"Maybe he got lost," suggested Kureha, Jiro's younger sister.

"Maybe he snuck into Silver Base," opined Mrs. Sakamachi, his mother.

"Maybe he deserted?" asked Kureha thoughtfully.

Her mother snorted. "More likely he's just hiding."

"Maybe the Crossroads Ghost got him," speculated Kureha.

"The what?" Mom stopped and stared.

"It's a story. The kids at school say.. that right after the evening shift, after everyone's gone home, that there's a ghost." Kureha snapped on her utility light, and placed it firmly beneath her chin to shine up over her face. Her mother just rolled her eyes, but the girl didn't stop. "They say it was one of the original colonists, who got trapped in an airlock. They say she doesn't have any legs, 'cause in zero gravity you don't need them, and she cut them off to escape, or she got hungry.." She rubbed her tummy for emphasis.

"Kureha, please, if you want to use your imagination, figure out where your brother is. We need to deliver this package to him." But Mrs. Sakamachi fished out her light anyway, just in case. Her other hand stayed tightly wrapped around a bundle bearing the RENEW military seal.

Kureha sighed. "Well, they say there's a ghost. How do you know there isn't?"

The pair felt a presence behind them. Both women were experienced martial artists, and turned, utility lights at the ready. "Show yourself!"

The sight was unnerving. The utility lights' two flickering oval beams also cast many shadows, distorting more than revealing. The pale face, the dead eyes, the stringy hair hanging from a high brow, the terrifying arrangement of lips and teeth in a ghastly rictus that no sane human could call a "smile".  
Its mouth moved. "hungry… the living....?" were the only words they could make out.

The Sakamachi women ran for it, screaming.

Behind them, the corridor was empty except for a single woman, wearing the RENEW Naval uniform. "Well they looked hungry. Maybe they weren't looking for the living quarters after all," she whispered to itself.

* * *

The linear train for Crossroads Station ran the length of the O'Neill cylinder, almost three kilometers. It connected the spaceport and engineering sections of the station, and had stops every tenth of a kilometer to admit passengers or let people off to transfer to a more local transit system. As the station spun in zero gravity, so did the train. As a result, there was always a gentle rocking motion that made passengers hold onto the handrails.

Lieutenant Takeo Gouda, immaculate in his white RENEW uniform, stood out like a mountain. Over 200 centimeters high, at 120 kg of muscle, he was a sharp contrast from the space-born citizens around him. His face, never particularly handsome thanks to thick lips and full eyebrows, could have been graven in stone. While the passengers around him bounced into him thanks to the swaying of the rail car, he neither moved nor noticed.

Beside him, his childhood friend Makoto Sunakawa looked out of place for different reasons. His model good looks made him seem more like a walking recruiting poster for the military than a typical lieutenant heading for his first deployment. Several of the girls on the train were already whispering and eying him. If he noticed, he made no sign.

Takeo was familiar with the pattern. His eyes might follow a girl, and hers would only follow the handsome Suna. But one girl on the train drew his eye now. She was cute - strawberry blond hair, wide eyes, petite build - but that wasn't what the giant man noticed. Nor was it the uniform she wore, the same as his despite the lack of officer bars. It was the fact that a certain lieutenant commander kept bumping into her, and only her, whenever the train swayed. And his hands, which should have definitely been holding onto the rails, were otherwise busy.

His sense of justice demanded action. The groper outranked him, but what of it? He was due to report to his assignment, true, but propriety was important. He moved, and people parted for him like a stream. He wound up next to his target, and waited. When the train shifted again, the man's hands moved toward the girl.

Takeo's hands took hold of the groper's forearms and squeezed. His muscles, accustomed to rigorous Judo practice and sports growing up, were well practiced. There was no need to break any bones to make a point.

"Sir," said Takeo, his voice booming over the noise of the train. "You should leave the lady alone."

"What's your problem, lieutenant? Assaulting a superior officer, eh?" The groper seemed confident despite the strength of the grip. "I'll see you brought up on charges for this." His bravado broke when he met Takeo's determined eyes. The giant man didn't need to speak, or move. He just waited.

The girl looked up, and Takeo glanced down. He felt his heart melt when he saw the tears in her eyes and watched her mouth the words "thank you".

Sliding around him, Suna caught the girl's attention. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly, and she nodded. As Takeo watched Suna talk effortlessly with yet another pretty girl, he allowed himself a sad inward sigh.

The train doors slid open at the spaceport stop. Takeo forcibly escorted the groper out, with Suna and the girl in tow. They were met by the military police. Only then did Takeo release his grip. When the groper's victim corroborated Takeo's version of events, the MPs shrugged, saluted, and waved off the officer's protestations.

Rubbing his bruised wrists, the lieutenant commander stared up at Takeo scornfully. "Don't know what your problem is, son. She's just a girl, who cares if a man has a little fun--"

Takeo's fist landed a staggering right cross on the man's jaw. He fell, senseless, to the deck.

Suna could only shrug and shake his head. "I'll let Gold Base know we'll be late."

* * *

The Sakamachis, mother and daughter, flooded into the MPs' office as Takeo was being processed. "There's an intruder in Section G!" yelled Kureha, while her mother nodded emphatically.

Two of the MPs looked at each other and shook their heads dismissively. That ended quickly when their superior snapped his fingers and pointed at the door. Then he beckoned Kureha over to get a statement.

Meanwhile, her mother noticed Takeo, waved, and came over. "Takeo Gouda? It is you, I thought so. How you've grown! How's your mother? Oh, you might not remember me, it's Mrs. Sakamachi. Your mother and I competed together at the Inter-Lagrange Wrestling Competition."

Takeo nodded firmly. "Yes ma'am! I remember. You placed second in the overall standings. My congratulations. Your martial skills were very impressive."

Mrs. Sakamachi looked pleased. Then, realizing Takeo wasn't here on a social call, she glanced at the MP who had him in custody. This wasn't easy - you couldn't really restrain Takeo, only stand next to him, be official, and hope he didn't wander off. "What's this man here for?" she demanded.

"He assaulted a superior officer, who was accosting a petty officer," the MP replied dryly.

"So he was defending an innocent girl from a superior officer taking advantage of her?" Mrs. Sakamachi asked in a flat tone. But she held the MP's gaze, and waited, and continued waiting until the man finally gave in.

"We're just doing our jobs, ma'am."

"I think you mean 'Captain'." The senior Sakamachi’s voice took on the distinctive tone of an impatient officer.

The MP recognized the woman's rank insignia at last, and snapped out a hasty salute. "Yes ma'am, when you put it that way… Err… Lt. Gouda, you're free to go."

Mrs. Sakamachi intercepted Takeo on the way out, and pressed a sealed package into his big hands. "My son Jiro will be working with you. See that this reaches him personally, okay? I know I can trust you."

Takeo nodded. "Yes ma'am! I will see to it."

Outside of the security office, Takeo found Suna and the girl he'd rescued waiting for him together. She bowed low, nervously adjusting her uniform, and stammered a few times before finally getting coherent speech together. "T-thank you both!" Before Takeo could say another word, she bolted.

"Lt. Gouda," called a voice from the office. It was the MP from earlier. "Sorry about that. How about you go check out Section G? If there's anyone there scaring people, I figure you can scare 'em better."

Takeo saluted, then took off at a good clip. Suna waved casually, then followed.

* * *

Section G was dimly lit. Like the Sakamachi women, Takeo had a light source. Behind him, Suna was playing his own light across the walls.

"Suna! Do you believe in ghosts?" asked Takeo, his booming voice only slightly muted in an attempt at subtlety.

Suna shrugged. "I've never seen a ghost. But if it's down here, it's probably someone who was in RENEW. You'd most likely outrank 'em, so just order them to stop haunting the base."

Takeo bobbed his head like God's truth had hit him. "You're right. I hadn't thought of that."

Suna concealed an amused smile behind one hand, and the pair moved on.

Rounding a junction, they caught sight of a moving figure in white. Both men shone their lights on target in unison. Their quarry was a girl with long, neatly brushed black hair in a long and elegant style, dark eyes narrowed against the glare of the lights, and an unusual but interesting face.

Takeo straightened up, seeing the rank insignia and medical indicator on her RENEW uniform. "Ma'am, there was an intruder reported in this section. You should be careful."

Suna's smile was understated. "I think she's the intruder, Takeo."

The big man turned, nonplussed. "But... Suna, she's with the Navy. She can't be an intruder."

Suna resumed laughing, so Takeo gave up and turned back to the stranger. "Lt. Takeo Gouda, RENEW Special Projects, Gold Base. What's your name and assignment?"

"Sa… Kuro… " the girl whispered.

Takeo leaned in. "I'm sorry?"

The girl almost bolted as the big man loomed over her, his bulk adding unintended menace. "Sawako Kuronuma!" she squeaked out.

Takeo bobbed his head enthusiastically. "Dr. Kuronuma! I'm pleased to meet you. This is Lt. Makoto Sunakawa, also of Gold Base." This outburst caused Sawako almost to panic, but she managed to restrain herself.

"Yo," said Suna. "D'you mind if we ask what you are doing here?"

"I… I…" Sawako couldn't make it through an entire sentence until Suna gently pulled Takeo back out of her personal space. "I.. was..waiting for somebody…"

"Oh?" Takeo glanced about. The corridors had been empty while the pair had searched earlier.

"Y.. Yes.. A.. someone on .. Gold Base.. a mechanic..."

Takeo loomed closer, and Suna tugged him back again.

Sawako swallowed and continued. "Um, please don't tell him. Mr. Kazehaya, the chief mechanic. He comes down here because there's a viewport that looks out at Earth, and he was looking for it one day, and I pointed him at it, and now I know he comes here to look through it, so I wait around in case he comes back and…"

"Okay, we get it," interjected Suna. "So you're waiting for your friend."

"Oh! There's someone now!" announced Takeo, looking down the corridor. "Hello! Are you Mr. Kazehaya?"

There was indeed a figure at the end of the corridor, a lean young man dressed in coveralls. He waved and called back. "Hi! Who's asking?"

"Your friend, Dr. Kuronuma, is here looking for you!" called Takeo. Sawako could only shriek and bolt, taking cover behind the big man's considerable bulk.

The mechanic ambled through the corridor and waved to Takeo, then Suna. He had a broad smile on his face. Like Suna, he was a good looking boy who probably attracted his share of attention from girls. "Yeah, I'm Shota Kazehaya. You guys are on Gold Base, huh? Awesome. I'm looking forward to working with you."

He shook hands with Takeo, then Suna, and only then peeked behind Takeo. "Hi, Dr. Kuronuma. Nice to see you again."

"Mr. Kaze...haya…. I look forward.. to working with you," managed Sawako, through heroic effort. "Even though we're.. really different… I.."

"I'm looking forward to it too." Kazehaya grinned. "What do you mean, different? You're a doctor, and I'm a mechanic. We both fix things when they aren't working, don't we?"

Sawako could only nod. Behind her, Suna smiled, while Takeo only watched and listened.

"We've got a crew-wide meeting at 1600, I think," Kazehaya announced. "I'll see you folks there."

Takeo, Suna, and Sawako waved, leaving Mr. Kazehaya behind. Their next stop was Gold Base.

* * *

Petty officer Rinko Yamato was having a whirlwind day. Today she was shipping out as steward aboard RENEW's newest spaceship. On the way there, she'd been accosted on the train by a superior, and then a big man had rescued her. Today was the day she'd met the most handsome man she'd ever seen. But when it came time to thank him properly for caring about her, she'd panicked.

Now she stood in a disused corridor of the spaceport, and found herself looking out a viewport at the planet Earth. Crossroads Station sat in a well of gravitational stability between the Earth and Moon, dubbed "L4". From here, Rinko had a magnificent view of the human race's home, and the constellation of artificial objects humanity had hung like Christmas ornaments in the space nearby.

"It all looks so peaceful, doesn't it," said a voice. Rinko jumped, and turned, finding herself looking at a slender, handsome young man in mechanic's coveralls.

"Uh, y-yes, it does. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you!"

"You looked like you could use a few minutes of peace," the young man commented. "Hi. I'm Shota Kazehaya, assigned to Gold Base. You are..?"

"Rinko Yamato. Uh, steward. Nice to meet you." The girl sighed. Her heart could only take so much strain today, and being startled had got her pulse up again.

Mr. Kazehaya leaned in slightly, eyes narrowed in probing curiosity. Finally he drew back and smiled again. "It's peaceful for me too, though it's not what I'm really here to see. The Earth, that is."

Rinko looked up, confused. "Oh? What else is there to see?"

Kazehaya grinned widely. He seems nice, Rinko thought to herself. "To tell you the truth," he explained, "I'm here to see a girl. She was the one who told me about this place. You know, when she talked about seeing the beautiful blue Earth, something about her face just lit up. It was amazing. So.. well, I met her here once, I thought I might get to see her again if I came back, you know?"

Rinko felt her heart relaxing. "That's.. really sweet. Um, have you seen her again?"

Kazehaya nodded. "Just a few minutes ago, actually. Now my heart's still racing. I guess you know what that's like, huh?"

Rinko's entire face flushed. "I.. don't know what you mean. I'm deploying today for the first time. I'm really excited. I guess we'll be serving on the same ship, so.. I'll do my best to cook good food for everyone!"

Kazehaya grinned. "I look forward to it. And thank you. I think you helped calm me down a bit. Want to head to the ship?"

Rinko nodded mutely, and the pair started walking.


	3. Panic

By 1300 hours, Commander Tada was able to report to Captain Kaga that all personnel had reported for duty aboard Gold Base, and were aboard. Three hours remained until the all-hands orientation, and then the ship's maiden voyage. Pre-flight checks were commencing. The NX-78 prototype mobile suits, four in total, had been loaded into the launch bays. Everything was ready.

Well, almost nothing was ready. Banri bowed his head in disappointment, unwilling to meet Koko's eyes as he ran down the list of problems. Energy cells weren't connected to any of the weapons systems on board the ship. Ammunition was still in its storage crates. Only half of the mechanics' tools were in usable shape. Ship's rations were almost nonexistent, so the steward was making calls to the station, furiously trying to procure fresh ingredients.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say we were launching a week before high command expected us to," Banri finished, sounding defeated. But he finally looked up, and saw something that made him forget his worries. He saw Koko smiling warmly at him.

"Your report was excellent, Mr. Tada. Thank you. Please keep working diligently. I have confidence in you."

Banri nodded, looking puzzled, and left the bridge for the hangar bays. Only then did Koko slump into the captain's chair and aim a frustrated kick at the nearest console. "Daddy.." she muttered, then left the bridge.

* * *

Ryuuji Takasu had a scary face. That was his life, really. When he was old enough to join RENEW, the recruiter had paled at seeing him. Other cadets scrambled to get out of his way in the halls. Stories spread around the academy that he'd never lost a fight. It was true, but only because he'd never fought anyone.

Girls, for the most part, avoided him. Only one girl had ever smiled at him in his time at the academy: Minori Kushieda, the red-headed and athletic cadet who headed up the softball team. She definitely had her own style, but while Ryuuji's classmates just dismissed this as "weird", the young man himself found it attractive.

When Ryuuji heard that Minori was heading to the Special Projects team, he did the same. He had help - Yuusaku Kitamura, a childhood friend, was also in Special Projects. But while Yuusaku had intelligence, charisma, and confidence, Ryuuji had an intimidating glare. It was enough to get his friend promoted to helmsman of Silver Base, and Ryuuji himself working as an ammo loader and mechanic down in the hangars on Gold Base.

Minori had been assigned to Silver Base as well, which made Ryuuji unhappy. Still, she was working the same sort of job he was - cargo handling, reloading, and resupply - so he'd get a lot of chances to be with her.

_Not that it matters_ , he thought to himself. _She barely knows who I am._

Ryuuji found it easy to think about these things when he was working. The cargo crates he was carrying by hand weren't too heavy - the big ones were being moved by the clumsy old KT-8 cargo robot. Ryuuji could navigate his way through the labyrinth of stacked boxes. He'd long since memorized the layout, and could drift through his thoughts without worrying too much about…

He felt himself bump into something. There was a heavy thud, and a grunt. Ryuuji peeked over the top of the crate in his hands. Nobody was in front of him. Weird.

"Hey! Watch where you're going," said a voice. Curious, Ryuuji moved the crate to one side. In front of him was a girl - very short, very petite, with flowing brown hair and a stern look on her face. To his immediate chagrin, Ryuuji noticed a red mark on her forehead. She was dressed like he was, and carrying a crate like his. He must have bumped into her without noticing.

She looked familiar. He could sort of see her nametag from this angle. Taiga. Tiger? A name popped into his mind, the thing he thought everyone had said when talking about her. "Oh, you're the Palmtop Tiger of C Class."

The next thing he knew, a tiny fist was rocketing toward his jaw.

* * *

Banri found the people he was looking for in the loading area. In the twisty maze of cargo crates, a man with narrow, glaring eyes was on the ground, rubbing his jaw, while a short girl was berating him in a loud voice. They both noticed Banri's approach, and stood at attention as best they were able.

"Crewman Taiga Aisaka. Crewman Ryuuji Takasu." Banri smiled a bit, noticing the injuries on each of them. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, sir," reported Taiga, glaring daggers up at Ryuuji. The boy only nodded mutely.

Banri glanced over at the KT-8, whose speed of movement made glaciers seem snappy, and at the remaining quantity of unloaded supplies. "What's going on down here, you guys?"

His tone of voice didn't sound accusing, and his eyes were as kind as he could make them. So he was gratified to see neither crewmember take umbrage. "The loading robot is slow!" explained Taiga, perhaps unnecessarily, but then pointed across the bay. "The spacedock guys have some new KT-12s, but they won't let us use them, and the robots are all sitting idle. They said the KT-8 works and is all we need."

Banri frowned. Gold Base was supposed to be a high priority for RENEW. Something didn't sound right. "Got it. What else?"

Ryuuji gestured at the crates. "The ammunition is boxed, but it's not sorted. They just dropped shells into crates at random. We're going to have to sort through everything by hand. At least everything's packed with the right QR codes. We can laser scan it."

"The KT-12s have laser scanners," Taiga grumped. "They could be doing this."

Banri's frown deepened. The unsorted cargo could be straightened out with newer loading robots… the robots wouldn't be dispatched while the KT-8 was working… He smiled. "Show me the smallest explosive ammunition you have, Ryuuji. How about one of the AA-5s?"

The two crew rummaged through a few boxes until they found a suitable bullet and produced it for Banri's inspection. He unscrewed the cap and tinkered briefly with the contents. Then, to their shock, they watched him walk toward the creaky old KT-8 and jam the round into one of its leg joints. With the round firmly affixed, Banri ran for it. Behind him, the sound of the explosion echoed the bay.

Banri, with a satisfied smile on his face, wound up next to Ryuuji and Taiga, who looked aghast. Comprehension slowly dawned, as they both looked over to hear his next words. "Ms. Aisaka, please inform spacedock that the robot they assigned us has broken down and that we need some KT-12's assigned to meet our departure window. Mr. Takasu, you and I will work on correctly labeling some cargo boxes."

Banri swiftly kicked over a stack of crates. A mixture of food, medicine, and ammo - all well padded already, to resist the usual shocks and accelerations a military spacecraft would endure - spilled across the hangar floor. With a sardonic grin, Ryuuji joined in with a violent side kick against another stack. _They call me a delinquent, huh? Fine, just this once._

By the time Taiga returned with three KT-12 robots in tow, several dozen empty crates had proper QR codes on them, and hundreds or thousands of packages were scattered across the deck. Obeying their programming, the KT-12s laser-scanned each individual package, picked it up, and deposited it into its proper storage crate. Once a crate was full, they'd pick it up and start carrying it toward Gold Base.

"You guys let me know if anyone else gives us a problem, okay?" Banri directed, as he waved and got on his way.

Ryuuji and Taiga nodded, both smiling, as he departed. But with him gone, the looks they gave each other weren't as warm.

* * *

Chinami Oka had boarded Gold Base, found her cabin, and thrown her duffel bag onto the unoccupied bunk. She'd reported for duty to the XO and been told to convene at 1600 for an all-hands briefing. Until then she was free to do as she wished.

She made her way to the bridge, where her duty station - communications - could be found. The job was much more than radio operation, of course. When someone on the ship needed to tell the captain something, her job was to sort through it all, get the right information, ask the right questions, and succinctly relay it all to a busy superior officer. It sounded like it would be a lot of work, and Gold Base was supposed to be an all-new ship. It made sense to get started learning about it as soon as possible.

The bridge was dark, but one viewscreen was lit up. Chinami thought back to her briefing. The navigation console? There was a silhouette blocking the light. "Hello?" she called, tentatively.

"Hi there!" The voice was calm and confident. She could hear faint sounds coming from the console.

She called back. "I'm Lt. Oka. Chinami Oka. Who's there?"

The lights came on. The man at the console was dressed in uniform, with a friendly face. He wore glasses, which partially reflected the light from his station. "I'm Takaya Sato. Helmsman, Gold Base. You must be our comm officer. Nice to meet you."

She smiled a little nervously and nodded as politely as she could manage. "Nice to meet you too. Um, where is everyone?"

Takaya jerked a thumb behind him, at the vacant command chairs. "Our XO is running around herding cats. The Captain's in her quarters on videophone. Our tactical officer is down helping the crew load and arm the weapons. Since the ship isn't ready to fly, I've got nothing to do but check myself out on the console."

Chinami laughed. "I'm doing the same, actually." This felt a little more comfortable. She wasn't the only one out of place.

That all changed when she took a seat at her duty station, then frowned. Her legs dangled, and the console was just a bit too high for her to comfortably reach. She was a small girl by anyone's estimation, and her face and voice had caused many people to tease her about being a kid over the years. Now even the furniture had it in for her.

Takaya must have seen it on her face. The next thing Chinami knew, he was standing next to her, smiling. "The first thing I figured out is how to adjust the console height," he said. With a few keypresses, he conjured something onto Chinami's screen. It was a stylized cartoon girl, sitting at an equally cartoonish representation of the console. "Here…" He showed her how to adjust the sizing using the touch screen, and the real physical console adjusted itself to match using built-in servos.

"What is this? This isn't the user interface I trained on." Chinami gestured at the cartoon girl, who was bowing politely.

"This is Vii-chan," said Takaya with a proud grin on his face. "She's a virtual intelligent interface that I wrote."

"She's uh, kind of cute," observed Chinami nervously, watching Takaya's eager face staring at his own creation on the screen.

"Oh? Yeah. Well, at school I despaired of real people and said I liked simulated ones better. So they nicknamed me '2D'." Takaya shrugged, and Chinami saw his face fall, the way she could feel hers do from time to time.

She looked down at her own feet, dangling over a too-tall chair, and made a decision. "They nicknamed me 'Miss Ultrasonic', because of my high voice. Kind of a bad choice for communications officer, huh?"

"They're letting a guy in glasses steer a spaceship," Takaya pointed out.

The two looked at each other, and started to laugh.

* * *

It didn't take long for Banri got a text message on his mobile device. The sender was unfamiliar: a woman named Ayane Yano. He'd been expecting the message itself: "Let's talk about the KT-8 you were assigned."

"Where?" he typed back.

"Gold Base airlock, 1330 hours," the reply came.

When Banri got there, he found two women. One, shorter and with a lighter shade of orange-brown hair, had a piercing gaze and a casual business outfit on. The other was taller, with narrower eyes and unkempt brown hair, wearing the practical outfit of a spaceport crewman.

"Ayane Yano. I'm the liaison to Crossroads space port's civilian administration," the shorter girl announced, looking directly at Banri. "This is Chizu Yoshida. She works with the cargo robots."

"Yo." The taller girl waved and grinned. She wasn't hard to read: just along for the ride. Banri had a much tougher time making out what Ayane was feeling.

"You said something about the KT-8," said Banri, keeping his voice neutral.

"The KT-8 that your crew was assigned had a.. malfunction." Ayane gestured, and Chizu produced the fragments of the AA-5 explosive round that Banri had used. "Looks like one of the loose rounds got into its mechanism. Is that about right?"

"I expect so," shrugged Banri, smiling. "Thank you for the replacements, though. Things are going much faster."

Ayane nodded. "I've been keeping an eye on the KT-12 activity log. It seems like they're doing a lot of sorting of cargo. It'd be faster if your crates were pre-sorted, you know."

"I know." Banri was still smiling. What was she getting at? Did she want to chew him out for the sabotage?

Ayane sighed. "Fine. I'll get to the point. This is going into my report as an accident. But in return I want an inspection. Your ship, what you're loading."

Banri coughed. "I'm not sure you have the proper security…" He was cut short when Ayane withdrew a high-clearance card and presented it to him. Dutifully Banri inspected it, and returned it with a nod. "What do you expect to find?" All he could do was stay cool and keep probing.

"My KT-12s are doing work they shouldn't need to. That means somebody messed up. I know you and your people didn't pack those crates. Somebody in your chain of command is either incompetent, or messing with you, Lieutenant Commander. I want to find out who."

Now Banri could finally read her. This wasn't an inquisition. She was angry, but not with him or his ship. He smiled broadly. "It would be my pleasure to escort you both."

* * *

Six humanoid robots, each fifteen to twenty-five meters high, crouched against the outer hull of Crossroads Station. They were masked from visual detection by the overhanging solar mirrors which gave the station much of its sunlight, and from radar detection by a complex waveform emitter built into one of the units.

Three of them were piloted by people - "mobile suits" in the common parlance. Civilian units of this type were used throughout the Near Solar System - the Moon, Mars, and near-Earth bodies - for construction in space and at all levels of gravity. They functioned as exoskeletons for manual labor and vehicles capable of reaching orbit even from Mars gravity. The military models - a recent invention, as tensions rose in the system - were under active development, more like a succession of prototypes than a true mass-produced weapon system.

The other three robots were operated by limited artificial intelligence. The piloting software was smart enough to take orders and execute reasonably sophisticated programs. They could devise rudimentary tactics in unfamiliar situations. But their advantage in a fight against trained human pilots was usually numeric.

The word "robot" had come from the Czech language for "drudge worker". To name these newer, self-driving humanoids, popular culture started from a similar place and came up with "zombie", but quickly moved to more palatable aliases like "Zack", derived from a popular fictional book. Linguistic drift resulted in "Zaku" among the Japanese-flavored culture of the space colonies. "Mobile dolls" was a more derisive nickname, especially among conservative military types who still valued the skills of a soldier over the advances of science.

All six units were physically touching. It was the only way to establish truly secure communication. Radio could be intercepted. Laser light might deflect and scatter. Here, nearest the enemy stronghold, caution was required.

The pilot of the lead suit, distinguished by its bright red coloration, spoke over this secure channel to his subordinates. "Yu, Rei, split up. Each of you take a Zaku. When the assault begins, they'll launch both ships. Each of you is to target the engines. Don't let them make it out of space-dock."

"Yes, Echo Recon, sir!" acknowledged the subordinates simultaneously.

"I'll begin the assault at 1400 hours promptly. The third Zaku is with me. Get in position."

"Yes, sir!"

The suits paired off and split up, and began to maneuver into their assigned positions.

* * *

Captain Kaga was back on the bridge by the time Banri arrived with Ayane and Chizu in tow. Anticipating her concern, and noting immediately the look on her face, he presented Ayane's security credentials. Only after seeing the captain nod did Banri explain their goal.

"So.. do you think this is just carelessness, or actual interference?" Koko asked guardedly.

Ayane shrugged and stared. "You seem to have some idea yourself." The two women stared hard at each other for a moment, while Banri looked on helplessly. Ayane broke off at last with a smile. "I'm not accusing you, Captain. I think you've the most to lose here. But I also think you know something that you're keeping to yourself. Fine. We'll--"

She was interrupted by loud klaxons and flashing red lights. The entire bridge shifted into a red-centric lighting scheme. Koko gestured imperiously, and Ayane and Chizu were canny enough to move to the side, grab hold of something, and shut up. Looking around, Koko immediately took stock. She wasn't familiar with the man at the tactical station--

"Lt. Commander Sunakawa, ma'am." The earnest, and very handsome, tactical officer said without prompting. He'd been watching where she was looking, anticipating. Good. Very good.

"What's the alarm?" she demanded.

"Crossroads spacedock issued a red alert. The station is under attack." Suna summoned security footage onto the main viewscreen, of two mobile suits breaking through the colony's hull and rocketing forward. Augmented-reality graphics flashed across the scene, highlighting certain distinct markings on the giant robots. "Looks like ABEL," Suna concluded.

"ABEL?" This was the girl at the communication station, and Koko grimaced. _When did we start allowing children on the bridge? At least give me a kid who knows what we're fighting._ Suna spoke up before she could give voice to her unkind thoughts.

"We're RENEW - Reclaiming Earth's Natural Environmental Wonder. ABEL - Avenge Blue Earth's Loss - is a splinter faction. They're hostile to all attempts at high-tech recolonization. So we're the enemy."

Chinami frowned. "But why…" An event at her own console drew her attention for a moment, and wordlessly she redirected the incoming communication to a picture-in-picture window on the main viewscreen.

The RENEW symbol was the only visual. "Gold Base and Silver Base are ordered to launch immediately," a faceless voice announced over the link. "ABEL's target has been confirmed to be your ships. You're sitting ducks in the bay. Get into space, lead them off, and stay safe."

"But we have civilians still on board," Koko protested.

"They're safer with you than here," came the tense reply. "You have immediate launch clearance. Go."

Nobody spoke. Everyone breathed, looking at each other, wondering, hesitating. The crackle of static, and the background noise of the enemy mobile suits fed through the security footage, was all anyone heard. Koko's parade-ground voice broke the silent impasse.

"Gold Base, launch immediately! Mr. Sato, clear all moorings, emergency protocol. Ms. Oka, signal Silver Base. Mr. Sunakawa, ready all weapons. Anti-missile and point defense are first priority."

Koko gripped the arms of her chair, feeling the ship around her warming up and shuddering as it began to move. Only after the flaring Minovsky Drive started pushing the ship forward did she turn to Banri.

"You're in charge of the NX-78 launch, if it comes to that. Get down there and make sure it goes smoothly." When Banri stood up, Koko gripped his hand and leaned in close, whispering so only the two of them would hear. "I need Mitsuo to be safe. We're going to protect Silver Base, whatever it takes."

Banri mutely nodded, and left the bridge.


	4. Assault

On the bridge, Suna switched the viewscreen to a tactical display. Gold Base and Silver Base were indicated as moving parallel, away from the rapidly retreating icon of Crossroads. Four new symbols snapped into existence. "We're being pursued. Four mobile suits, ABEL markings, Captain," he reported.

"Evasive maneuvers. Prepare for incoming fire," Koko directed. Obligingly, the ship shuddered and twisted as Tadaya started drifting the ship. With luck, random motion could let the ship dodge any attacks coming their way. In practice, the cross-section of Gold Base was big enough to make it an easy target at this distance. But Koko didn't have many options yet.

* * *

Banri felt himself moving with more quickness than safety. Moving through a spaceship under acceleration is a tricky thing ordinarily. The ship's own weapons were designed to engage other ships. Against the hostile mobile suits coming for Gold Base, the best defense was other mobile suits. Everything depended on getting the new robots prepared and launched. And that might depend on him.

Hangars A and B were in chaos. Shota Kazehaya was directing Ryuuji and Taiga in furious activity. As Banri approached, the chief mechanic briefly explained. "There's a jam in the suspension tanks. Without it, we can't get the units moving. Tell the captain that it could be seconds or minutes. Other than that, they just need weapons."

Good enough. "Are you short of anything?" the XO asked.

"People," the beleaguered mechanic suggested with a smile.

Behind Banri, the elevator to the bridge had opened again, revealing Ayane and Chizu. "We're trained on the ship's re-arm and launch systems," Ayane announced. "How about us?"

Shota grinned. "Right. Operate the launch rails. Get those NX-78s prepped for launch." The two girls snapped salutes and ran off.

"We've found the jam," Ryuuji reported, pointing at the massive metal silo that contained the vitally necessary hyper-fluid for the mobile suits. "We don't have the right tools to clear it."

A sound behind him made both young men turn and look. Taiga was stripping off her heavy protective space-gear, the only thing that seemed to give her any bulk.

"What are you doing?" Ryuuji demanded.

"I'm small enough that I can get through the aperture and clear the jam," retorted Taiga. "Stop being useless and get over here and lift me in!" At least she'd kept on her helmet and skin-tight undersuit. Ryuuji grimaced. Would that be enough to keep her safe in there?

Ryuuji glanced at Shota, who shrugged and grinned. "I know you two can do it."

* * *

The two RENEW pilots had responded immediately when the red alert sounded. Takeo barely squeezed through the doorway into the men's changing room and started stripping off his clothes. In his locker was the sensor-studded pilot's suit he would have to wear to operate any of the NX-78 prototypes. Jiro was right behind him, and happened to notice Subaru already preparing to change in one corner. If Takeo saw her changing...

"Uh, Lt. Gouda!" he called nervously.

Takeo turned, curious. "Lt. Sakamachi! What is it?"

"Uh.." Jiro thought fast. "We're supposed to change near the shower area. The… electromagnetics in this part of the ship are bad for the suits… I heard."

"Oh! Thanks." Takeo gave a quick thumbs-up, grabbed his suit, and trundled off in his undershirt and boxers.

Jiro turned, breathing a sigh of relief, and saw Subaru looking at him, still frozen half-way through removing her own pants. "He's gone," he explained, perhaps unnecessarily.

Subaru waited just a moment, hoping Jiro would notice his situation. "Then what are you still doing here?" she finally demanded.

"Oh." Jiro paused, and comprehension dawned. "Oh!" He, too, grabbed his pilot's suit and retreated out of sight.

Subaru sighed. Only when Jiro was out of sight did she let out a hesitant smile of appreciation.

* * *

Ordinarily a pipe would connect to the silo and back-pressure would open the vacuum seal, letting the ionic "blood" stored inside to be pumped into a mobile suit. But something was obstructing the conduit from inside, and only Taiga could find it and clear it. The port was a snug fit, even for someone with Taiga's slight build. She struggled and kicked, as Ryuuji held her up to the chest-high hole.

Ryuuji grumbled over the headset - Taiga, now halfway through and with her head immersed in high-tech fluid, wouldn't have heard him anyway if he'd spoken out loud. "Stop kicking me! I'm trying to help you."

"It's not my fault you're grabbing my butt!" Taiga yelled back. "You perverted dog, taking advantage of a girl in a position like this."

"This was your idea," Ryuuji observed wearily. "Anyway, I can't grab anything else, your legs are moving around too much. Stop squirming and I'll push you in further."

"Fine. Just - let me - grab hold - of something," grunted Taiga. She squirmed again, but Ryuuji managed to get a solid grip on her shins and finish pushing her inside.

Within the tight confines of the silo, Taiga was literally swimming in magnetically active hyper-fluid. Only the sealed suit and helmet she wore kept her alive and breathing. She located the jam - a chunk of plastic sealant that had torn off when the silo was installed on the Gold Base. Then she took a breath and reported back the bad news.

"I'm gonna have to stay in here until the fueling is finished, otherwise this thing will just be sucked into the opening again."

Over the radio, Ryuuji's voice held a scowl as potent as his eyes. "It's gonna be rough in there. And you don't have the oxygen. Come out and we'll try to--"

"Shut up!" Taiga shouted, "Shut up shut up shut up! Just fuel the stupid thing up already!"

Outside, Ryuuji let out a sigh. Even over the radio, he could hear the quaver in her voice. He could picture tears running down her cheeks inside the sealed helmet.  
  
"Alright." That one word was all he could muster. And then Ryuuji got to the task of connecting the pipe, and engaging the tremendous pumps that would bring life to the quiescent NX-78s being slowly moved into position on their launch rails.

* * *

Mobile suits had evolved from early exoskeletons. They were a solution to a major problem in space exploration and colonization: what is the smallest number of novel machines you can build to do the largest number of jobs? It wasn't practical to create tractors, trailers, backhoes, bulldozers, pavers, and the numerous other vehicles one needs to build a city on the moon. You could train a human being to make the necessary motions, but not make that human operate at the necessary scale.

The solution was exoskeletons. The operator would strap themselves into a cage with artificial muscles, then move it around. In atmosphere, or under a pressure dome, this worked fine. In vacuum, you wrapped the whole thing in armor and gave it a life support system. Thrusters, better sensors, and modular equipment sockets followed. If the first mobile suits were comparable to metal cave-men, hunter-gatherers wielding primitive tools, this next generation was like the farmer or craftsman, able to accomplish fairly sophisticated tasks at giant scales.

The NX-78 was a knight. Not merely sealed from vacuum or hostile environments, it was fully armored. It stood tall, a white and blue giant with red and yellow highlights. Its limbs were as articulate as a human's. A sophisticated sensor system in the head, including a V-shaped radio transceiver, gave it unparalleled battlefield intelligence. Its weapons included both long-range rifles and close-quarters combat weapons.

A manned mobile suit is also a steed of sorts, obeying the commands of its rider. But RENEW had no human knights. Its squires would have to suffice.

* * *

All three pilots were ready and waiting in their suits. Each watched their screens light up. They hung suspended from a cunning arrangement of cables and supports, allowing them as much freedom of movement as possible. The "panoramic cockpit" system, replacing the pilot's entire field of vision with a composite of the mobile suit's cameras, flickered over the walls and made the entire robot seem suddenly transparent. The pilots seemed to be looking out from their giant vehicle's "eyes" at the hangar bay. Holographic indicators flickered to life, overlaying the hangar with tactical readouts and the status of vital systems.

"This is going to be a baptism by fire," came Kanade's voice over the radio. "Subaru has logged hours on the prototype, but none of you have fought for real in a mobile suit. My advice is to move your body, and let the suit follow. The system is called Guidance Using Natural Direction And Motion. Do what feels natural. Do you understand? Just do what feels natural."

Takeo nodded his head, and the suit responded in kind. "Right! Guidance Using…" He thought for a moment, then spoke quietly to the machine around him. "I see. So that's who you are."

Chinami came over the intercom next. "You have clearance to launch. Lt. Gouda, Lt. Sakamachi, Mr. Konoe."

Takeo grinned. "Lt. Takeo Gouda… GUNDAM Zero! Launch!"

The magnetic rails on which the suit was mounted were energized. Takeo felt tremendous acceleration as he, and the mobile suit, surged outward and vaulted into space.

Jiro wasn't sure how to follow that display, nor what Takeo was talking about. He could do what he always did, though - follow someone else's lead and play along. "Lt. Jiro Sakamachi, GUNDAM Beta. Launch!"

Behind the two, Subaru sighed. What is this 'GUNDAM' business? Why is everyone in the Navy crazy over acronyms? "Subaru Konoe, GUNDAM Alpha. Launching."

* * *

The four ABEL suits were visible first on radar, once the mobile suits cleared Gold Base's immediate area. "Analysis is two Zaku, two manned suits," announced Chinami over the radio. "We don't see any signs of a ship nearby. The Captain says if we can delay them long enough, they'll run out of fuel and be forced to turn back. So, the mission is to protect Gold Base and Silver Base until then. Um, please stay safe!"

"Roger that!" acknowledge Takeo.

Subaru came over the radio next, directing instructions to the two RENEW pilots. "Alright. Navigation in space. Tense your arms and legs to activate jets built into each servo. You have a minute or so to get oriented before they're in weapons range."

Takeo and Jiro spent the next sixty seconds comically flitting around space, while Subaru watched, increasingly unimpressed with the team's chances. But the NX-78s had been designed to be operated through natural motion, and both of the boys seemed capable… Maybe…

After tense moments, it seemed like everyone was oriented. The three suits couldn't fly in formation yet - it was way too early for such high hopes - but they could fly. And fly they did.

"Weapons hot!" Takeo announced, and his suit hefted the rifle with which it was armed. Jiro and Subaru readied theirs as well.

Suna's voice came over the radio. "Intruders entering Gold Base's Minovsky radius in 3… 2… 1…"

The three RENEW mobile suits opened fire as soon as they could get a lock on the enemy. The AS-15 caseless ammunition, designed for space use, was mixed in with a handful of tracer rounds. As a result, the three pilots could see the streams of bullets arc toward the enemy.

The ABEL suits split up immediately, easily dodging the first hail of gunfire. The GUNDAMs tried to follow, though the tracer trails showed them going wild. "Dammit," grunted Subaru over the radio. Takeo and Jiro, in their own suits, nodded to themselves, understanding the feeling. This was a lot harder than weapons drills during basic training. Though they had fired at moving targets, this was completely different.

"Conserve ammo! Don't shoot when they're moving laterally!" called Jiro.

"Split up," suggested Subaru.

Takeo jetted outward from the group first, and Subaru and Jiro both went in different directions. The three lost track of each other almost immediately. When Jiro thought he had a shot, it was Takeo coming right for him, and both suits veered away from each other wildly.

Meanwhile, the ABEL suits opened fire. The two manned suits used tracers as well, while the Zaku needed no such affordance - their suit Limited Artificial Intelligences tracked targets as naturally as a hawk spotting a mouse. A few rounds glanced off the GUNDAM armor, causing the suits to briefly careen off course.

Takeo saw what was happening first. The Zaku weren't great at hitting wildly moving targets, but they didn't have to be. The living people in the other two suits could drive the GUNDAMs together, box them in, make them predictable.

He saw it all happen at once, and in a burst of hyper-aware focus maneuvered GUNDAM Zero into the path of fire. He raised his rifle, and emptied a clip into the two manned suits' centers of mass. Then dozens of punctures sent the suit's own hyper-fluidic blood pouring out into space, and GUNDAM Zero stopped moving.

Behind him, shielded from the brunt of the attack, Jiro and Subaru could see the two wounded ABEL suits retreat and fly off. The Zaku took off in a different direction.

The radio came to life. It was Chinami, her high voice quavering. "Two manned suits heading toward Silver Base. Captain says leave the Zaku to us. Lt. Sakamachi, Mr. Konoe, you need to go protect Silver Base."

"But what about..?" Jiro was frozen, staring at the damaged hulk of GUNDAM Zero. Then he saw Subaru's Alpha shaking its head mutely.

Jiro took two deep breaths, then exhaled, and swore. "GUNDAM Beta, acknowledge. Heading to Silver Base."

* * *

Rinko Yamato was at her designated station during a red alert: the medical bay. She would back up Dr. Kuronuma if anything happened, since nobody needed her culinary services in combat. For now, all she could do was wait, and pray.

The PA clicked to life. She could hear the Captain's voice. "Hangar C, prepare for emergency rescue of Lt. Gouda's mobile suit. Medical bay, prep for triage."

Rinko felt her legs start to shake. Lt. Gouda - that was the man from this morning. He had been so brave, and considerate. She had forgotten something very important. She started sprinting down the corridor, and the lift at the end of it.

She burst onto the bridge, and spied a familiar face at the tactical station. It was the smaller officer who'd been with Gouda that time. The other bridge crew noticed the intrusion, but most seemed too busy to deal with it at the moment.

She pointed out the viewscreen. "Is the Lieutenant okay?"

Suna shrugged. "His suit is pretty damaged. His vitals are fluctuating."

That was all Rinko needed. She stabbed a finger down on the comm button on Suna's panel and started talking into the microphone, barely noticing the moment when tears started flowing down her cheeks.

* * *

Far from the ship, GUNDAM Zero drifted in the empty black of space. Inside the mobile suit, Takeo slowly regained consciousness. It was a voice, and it was familiar, somehow. His head was swimming. He tried to focus. He couldn't open his eyes.

".. We met this morning." It was a girl talking. "On the train. You.. saved me from that senior officer."

Oh. That girl. Takeo smiled weakly. If he was going to die here, it was nice to be remembered…

The radio was still talking to him. "Lieutenant Takeo Gouda. I never told you my name. It's Rinko Yamato. Please.. come back, so I can thank you properly. I can make cakes, if you like those, or French pastries.. so please, come back safely."

Takeo heard Suna in the background, reporting. "Captain, two Zaku still heading for us."

Realization dawned on Takeo, despite his disorientation. They're heading for Gold Base. Her name is Yamato.. Miss Yamato. They're heading for Miss Yamato. Miss Yamato is in danger.

Takeo's eyes snapped open.

Back at the tactical console, a burst of new activity registered. "Captain, NX-78-0 is moving again." Suna's calming smile, and a reassuring pat on her hand, allowed Rinko to relax. She fled from the bridge before the Captain could chew her out. Where she belonged now was the medical bay, where he would be soon enough.

* * *

In Takeo's mind, another voice made itself known. It was the civilian woman who'd been aboard. Kanade Suzutsuki, he thought. "Do what feels natural," she'd told the pilots.

_What can I do that feels natural?_

GUNDAM Zero's thrusters engaged. Takeo aimed his wounded suit at the quartet of rocket flares, indicating the ABEL mobile suits heading for Gold Base. "Suna!" he bellowed over the radio. "Two questions. Do you have a fix on my mobile suit? Can you target me?"

"Affirmative," came the calm reply.

"Good! Secondly! What do you know about French pastries?"

Suna was silent for a moment. "I think they're okay," he finally answered. "You should come back and try some."

Takeo nodded fiercely. "Right! Suna, lock onto me and fire when I give you the word. Okay?"

"Okay."

_Do what feels natural._

Takeo caught up with the last enemy mobile suit, and reached out. With the uncanny accuracy of the GUNDAM system, his own suit's hands obeyed his every motion. "Suna, fire!" he shouted, and threw the enemy into the first Judo hold ever attempted by a mobile suit.

Gold Base's weapons raved out. The enemy suit, expertly positioned between the ship and the GUNDAM by a ten-year Judoka, took the full brunt of the attack. Takeo kicked off of the Zaku's spine just before the self-piloted machine exploded, then rode the concussion wave away. His own jets came to life again, and he went for its partner. He ducked and weaved, easily avoiding the flailing autocannon fire it attempted, and threw an expertly aimed punch at its central camera. The second Zaku's head crumpled. Suna's targeting was enough to hit it during a moment of indecision.

"Lt. Gouda! Gold Base is okay. Please dock in Hangar C for repair and re-arm," came Chinami Oka's voice. "We'll move to support Alpha and Beta now."

"Roge…" Takeo didn't manage to finish his sentence before slumping back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Subaru and Jiro piloted their Alpha and Beta suits through space, leaving Gold Base behind. Ahead of them were the two damaged ABEL mobile suits, and their pilots. And beyond them, Silver Base. The resupply ship wasn't meant to fight directly.

"NX-78-A, NX-78-B, Silver Base. Suits passing into our Minovsky radius in 10 seconds," reported an unfamiliar male voice, probably one of the bridge officers of that ship.

Jiro gritted his teeth, silently urging his unfamiliar craft to go faster. Off to one side, he saw the jets flaring as Subaru's Alpha pulled ahead.

The ABEL suits winked off of Jiro's radar. They must have passed into the radius of Silver Base's Minovsky reactor. As a side effect of its power and propulsion systems, the reactor generated a field that interfered with electromagnetic radiation. Transmissions could be sent via radio, but directed waves - radar, LIDAR, laser weapons, and so forth - became refracted in random directions. The automatic targeting systems of the GUNDAM had thus lost track of the suits.

That left visual detection. At the same time, there was a flare from the ABELs' jets, and then both winked out. The two enemy suits had simply disappeared.

"Where'd they go?" Subaru demanded.

Jiro thought a moment. "They're running dark. Drifting on inertia. We have to get closer."

Alpha and Beta passed through the Minovsky screen. As they did, warning klaxons suddenly sounded, and the two ABELs sprang into radar visibility on the panoramic cockpit. The two GUNDAMs were struck from behind by a concerted missile and autocannon attack.

Jiro felt his body being crushed. He panicked, but the sensation quickly faded. The suit's feedback system was simply letting him know what it had just felt.

"We're leaking interior fluid. Too much to coagulate. We have seconds before we're immobile," reported Subaru tensely. "Jiro, what do we do?"

Jiro glanced left, seeing Subaru's Alpha. It was gushing the bright ionic hyper-fluid into space, but not from many wounds. There was only one…

"Back to back!" he called out, and struggled to tense in the right way to activate jets. Subaru, understanding after a moment what his plan was, did the same. The Alpha and Beta suits crashed together, each one's outer hull sealing the gaping wound in the other. The warning klaxons subsided.

"Left vernier, 3, 2, 1.." Subaru called out the timing. "Now!" Both pilots activated their jets simultaneously. The GUNDAMs, needing to move as one, rocketed through space.

Jiro felt a solid pressure on his own back, as his mobile suit relayed the sensations to his body. I'm back to back with Subaru, he found himself thinking. _Even if she's in a suit, she's feeling the same thing.. feeling touching me.._ He saw rivulets of blood emerging from his nose to float freely in his helmet. _No, not now, not now.._

The ABELs lined up for another shot. Jiro and Subaru had both seen Takeo take the blow for them, but they'd also seen the enemy's movement in the process. Now they saw it again. Now they were ready. Two rifles raised simultaneously, and fired point-blank. The ABEL suits, streaming smoke and hydraulic fluid, discharged their weapons into empty space rather than their intended targets.

The two pilots let out a sigh of relief, and a whoop of happiness, as the two ABELs engaged their rockets. They were giving up on Silver Base, for now.

Subaru laughed and laughed. Danger was past, and the exhilaration of survival flooded her body. "Lt. Sakamachi! We made it!... Lieutenant?"

Jiro's Beta wasn't moving.

"His vitals are steady according to our telemetry," came the voice of Silver Base over Subaru's radio. "He should be okay. Gold Base is on the way to pick you both up. Good work."

They'd won. The two ships were safe. Lt. Gouda had survived, and was being picked up. So why, Subaru wondered to herself, did she feel like crying?


	5. Aftermath

The recovery of GUNDAM Zero was less like a docking maneuver, and more like a controlled collision between Hangar C and the giant robot. Shota deployed the crash net, and Ryuuji and Taiga readied the fire-suppression and repressurization systems. Grappling hooks mounted aft locked onto Takeo's wounded craft to aid the process, but the difference in velocity was too much. One of the grapples' winches was ripped entirely free of its moorings, and the line tangled itself up in the mobile suit's limbs. On the bridge, Tadaya directed a fierce series of rocket bursts, and the suit clanged noisily into the hangar.

Rescue operations began immediately. Ayane, Chizu, and Shota extracted the unconscious Takeo from his cockpit using the emergency ejection system, and then lugged (with no small effort) toward the med-bay. Ryuuji stayed behind, promising to see Jiro and Subaru safely home in Hangar D, while Taiga started taking stock of the damage to Zero.

In the med-bay, Rinko was flustered past the point of rational thought. What if Takeo died? What if he was so badly injured that he would stay in a coma? There was so much that could go wrong--

The girl felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up. It was Commander Tada, the man with a smile on his face, but with the strange look in his eyes. "You're worried about Lt. Gouda, right?" he asked her gently.

Rinko nodded mutely, and dropped her gaze from Banri's.

"He'll be okay. The suit is designed to keep him alive and safe at all costs."

Rinko swallowed. "Pardon me, sir, but.. I can't help worrying. How could anyone have survived a mobile suit assault like that?"

"Well, I did."

Rinko looked up, seeing a strange smile on Banri's face. He seemed reassuring, but his eyes were looking past her, somehow. He patted her shoulder gently, then moved off, leaving Rinko with a curious mixture of relief and confusion.

* * *

Sawako crouched in one corner of the room. The others were bringing Lt. Gouda in and arranging him on one of the beds. The huge man was bleeding and bruised. But it wasn't his injuries that were holding her back. It was the stark staring faces of her crewmates, and the expectant feeling hovering in the room.

She'd always been an outsider. Her strange moods and unusual appearance hadn't earned her any friends growing up. She loved living things, and she'd been enthralled by every picture of the blue-green Earth as it was before Judgement had come. Everything alive - people, animal, plants - seemed full of a vitality that she wanted to share in and connect with. It had led her to join RENEW, and to medicine. But now that it was time to do it for real - not just to operate on lightly injured trainees, or practice robots - she froze up.

Ayane, glancing left, startled for a moment. "Takeo's gonna die." Chizu shivered too. "Yeah, I see her. The Sadako."

Shota, confused, prodded both girls lightly. "What are you two talking about?"

Ayane pointed. "The ghost with the long stringy hair. It's a Sadako. It's a creature from traditional Japanese mythology. It means someone's cursed to die."

Sawako looked up. Her paralysis deepened. Mr. Kazehaya was watching her. The childhood nickname that everyone used for her didn't help either. And she couldn't save Lt. Gouda, because she wasn't qualified. It would be better, she thought, if she really was a ghost. She could disappear out into space..

The sound of laughter pealed through the med-bay. Shota Kazehaya's belly laugh dispelled her horrid mood in an instant, and she looked up at him, shocked. "That's our doctor. Sawako Kuronuma," he said. "When she's around, it means nobody's going to die."

He smiled up at her, and Sawako felt as though the Sun had risen after a long night. Her face flushed red. _He remembered my name._ A new fear gripped her: _I'll disappoint him._ She saw him nod confidently, reassuringly, the way he always did. There was no doubt in his eyes. For a moment more, she hesitated.

And then she felt a tug on her sleeve, and turned, and looked down. There was a short girl - Rinko Yamato, she thought - who was holding up the diagnostic sensor with tears in her eyes. "Please fix him," she whispered.

_What if it was Mr. Kazehaya on the table?_

She felt galvanized. "Right. Everybody out. Miss Yamato, seal the room. Sterilize the atmosphere. Prepare synthetic blood." And everyone cleared out promptly, as the Crossroads Ghost hovered over a dying man.

* * *

Suna had left the bridge as soon as Captain Kaga had stood the ship down from red alert. He found the med-bay quickly enough, and an observation window. Two other people - the two other mobile suit pilots - were watching. Jiro Sakamachi and Subaru Konoe, he thought. _Of course they'd be here._ Both of them were still wearing their form-fitting pilot suits, but Suna saw that the civilian - Subaru - had donned a heavy blanket as well. Shock, maybe?

He watched for a moment longer, reading their faces, their body language. Neither was looking at the other. They weren't particularly close, nor particularly apart, but still.. distant. Their entire attention was on the operating theater. Inside, Sawako was moving like a whirlwind, and Rinko was struggling to keep up. Takeo was still unconscious.

_They feel guilty. They think they should have done more. They don't know each other well enough to draw comfort from each other. Now is when their confidence will be tempered, or shattered. They need Takeo to be okay._ Suna paused, reflecting on his own feelings. _So do I._

"The first time Takeo broke his arm, it was Judo practice." Neither Jiro nor Subaru had noticed him, and both startled at the sound of his voice. Suna kept talking. "Takeo's mother didn't panic. She just talked to him, on the way out of the doctor's office. She told him she'd practice with him, and show him what he did wrong. He won his next match. And almost all of them after that."

"When the doctor's done with him, I want you three to run through some drills together. We're going to replay the fight, and we'll talk about alternate strategies. Until then, I want you two to work together on a report. Record about whatever you can remember fighting the ABEL units. Movement patterns, weapons, anything. When Takeo wakes up, he'll contribute what he remembers too. Think you can do that?"

Jiro looked at Subaru, and Subaru looked back. Both of them paused, then nodded in unison. "But will he be okay, sir?" Jiro asked, still uncertain.

Suna's face broke into an actual smile, the first the pilots had ever seen from him. "Something like this won't stop Takeo. And it shouldn't stop you either. Now get going."

* * *

"Lt. Gouda pulled through," came the call from the med-bay to the bridge. Everybody on the ship heard about it, somehow, and before Sawako could even finish sterilizing her instruments post-operation, the faces of the entire crew were pressed up against the observation window to watch Takeo, and her.

The giant was mostly undressed, covered only in the porous synthetic foam used in modern surgery to prevent infection. He was still restrained on the operating table, but his wounds had been sealed up and he was breathing regularly.

Coming down after her frenzy of activity, Sawako first really noticed the crowd. When the green light appeared over the door and the med-bay unlocked itself, the crew poured through the opening and surrounded her. "Good job, doctor." "Thank you so much!" "Thank you." "He's really okay?" "That was a close thing, right?" "Oh man, I was worried for a bit."

Sawako's eyes sought out Mr. Kuronuma, and found what she hoped and feared most - he was looking right at her, with bright eyes and his big smile. "I… I'm glad I could be of use," she whispered.

"You were more than useful. You were really incredible," he said, right to her, in a voice that somehow carried over the din of the crowd.

What happened next was startling. People drew in breath and forgot to let it out. The whole room got quiet.

Sawako was smiling.  
  
It wasn't the creepy grin that had inspired stories of ghosts. It was just the smile of a happy, beautiful girl. And when Shota Kazehaya saw it, he wondered why he wished everyone else in the med-bay would just leave, so he could stare at it all by himself.

* * *

Takeo found himself regaining consciousness in fits and starts. His body hurt, but he could deal with that. Everything was a blur, and there was a roaring, like an ocean nearby.

The sensations started to modulate themselves. The roaring was his blood pumping, pushed along by a powerful, well-trained, and resilient heart. The blur was the light and dark of walls. He could feel his eyes flutter.

Everyone was gathered around somebody. Takeo couldn't tell what was going on, but everyone seemed energetic and happy.

_The ship is okay. That's good._

In one corner, he saw two figures, tall and short. His eyes watered and ached with the effort to focus, but he made them out at last. It was Suna. In his arms was Rinko Yamato, the girl from earlier.

_They're relieved to be alive. Of course._

Takeo wanted to sigh, but his body protested the very act of breathing. New feelings came.

_Of course she's with him. Who else would a beautiful girl be with?_

A brief smile came, painful thanks to his cracked and dehydrated lips.

_That's okay. I'll go on, protecting her from a distance. I'll keep this ship safe for Miss Yamato, and for Suna. Let them be happy together._

* * *

It took Captain Kaga storming the med-bay and imperiously ordering people back to their stations to break up the party. She waited until everyone else was gone, and stopped Suna on his way out the door. "Report to the bridge conference room when you're ready," she ordered quietly. The young man raised one eyebrow in curiosity, but said nothing.

In the conference room, Captain Kaga was waiting, along with Commander Tada and the other bridge crew. Kanade Suzutsuki was also there. Suna recognized her as the NX-78 project lead.

Koko opened a file on the conference room computer terminal, and it projected itself onto the wall, large enough for everyone to see it. It was a set of still images, video clips, and classified reports. She started clicking through each item, magnifying it as an aid to her talk. Her first words drove a chill down Suna's spine.

"We may have a traitor."

When nobody spoke up or objected, she continued. "Gold Base's dock, departure time, and other details were classified information. RENEW is both a civilian and military organization, but Special Projects is compartmentalized within it. Yet we were attacked by mobile suits, ready and willing to attack us in our dock, and after launch. And there's something else. Mr. Sato, please explain the Unified Drive System for Miss Suzutsuki."

Tadaya spoke up. "The Minovsky Unified Drive System, or UDS, uses the resonant microwave cavity principle discovered a century ago. The drive creates a quantum vacuum virtual plasma, which is really a misnomer, since--" He was cut off by a glare from Koko, and resumed sheepishly. "Well anyway, it generates a strong electromagnetic field that has the effect of pushing a spaceship without the use of propellant, and also generates usable power for the ship's systems as a side effect."

"The UDS has other properties. For example, while a drive is in operation, the ship emits a field, the outer edge of which creates a sort of electromagnetic barrier. It's not strong enough to actually block projectiles, but it distorts EM waves passing through it, like targeting lasers, radars, and radio waves. In principle it's similar to the thermoclines in Earth's oceans that submarines of the last two centuries would use - pass through a thermocline and you can't be reliably detected by anything on the other side."

"The size of the barrier is called the Minovsky Radius. If a mobile suit passes through it, you lose your lock-on."

Kanade nodded. "Mobile suits with their own Minovsky reactors, including nearly every modern design, have the same phenomenon. It's a limiting factor on suit size. Too large and your suit falls apart under its own weight. Too small and the Radius interferes with your internal electronics. It's also why mobile suits use short-ranged weapons instead of gunning each other down from miles away - they're naturally radar resistant. They'd have to know at least something about the Minovsky Radius, even without knowing about your UDS system."

Koko smiled appreciatively. "That's right. But watch what happened." On the screen, a video of the two ABEL mobile suits approaching Silver Base, taken from GUNDAM Alpha's onboard cameras, began to play. The two enemy suits seemingly vanished. Now a second video started to play, and Suna read the accompanying text. This video was from Silver Base's own observational cameras, almost directly opposite GUNDAM Alpha's direction. The suits looked like they were deploying a black liquid or aerosol, in the direction Jiro and Subaru had been chasing them.

Realizing the tactic immediately from the new vantage point, Suna explained it aloud. "Like a squid sprays ink to blind a pursuer before taking off. They broke visual and radar detection in order to set up their ambush. They must have known the Minovsky Radius for Silver Base accurately enough to time that tactic down to the second. That means they have precise specs on our engines."

"So what are you going to do about all this?" asked Kanade.

"Our orders are simple." The Captain rose from her seat, straightening her uniform with a look of determination on her face. "Gold Base and Silver Base are not to return to Crossroads, nor to dock with any other RENEW space colony until further notice. We can't endanger civilians further. The madman that attacked Crossroads put thousands of lives at risk just to get to us. We may - we will - face further attacks in space. Better us than the innocents on the colonies."

Koko's face softened, as she watched the assenting nods from everyone else in the room. A shadow of regret passed over her fine features. "One more thing. The admiral - my father - thinks it's possible that the traitor is someone connected to somebody on board either Gold or Silver Base. I trust you all, but.. " She trailed off, unable to complete the thought.

Kanade filled in the silence with a quiet admission. "I should tell you something else then. RENEW high command knows this already. The Suzutsuki industrial concern had an earlier prototype stolen. The NX-72. About a year ago. It was never recovered, but some of its secrets went into the NX-78. If ABEL has it, they may have enhanced their own suits. I'll study these recordings and try to confirm that suspicion."

Captain Kaga nodded. "Very well. For now, orders. To all members of Gold Base crew: carry on your normal duties. Prep the ship for extended acceleration. Until we receive new orders, we are to lure any ABEL forces we encounter away from civilian colonies, and engage as needed. We will continue to train our pilots on the NX-78s, and to make improvements to the prototypes."

Koko watched the faces of her shipmates, and felt the tension. This wasn't going to be easy.

_Mitsuo, watch over me._

* * *

Jiro had a hard time facing Subaru. The girl wearing the boy's disguise seemed obscurely upset with him, and refused to speak ever since Suna had talked to the pair at the med-bay. But they found themselves staring at each other again, outside the door where Takeo was resting.

The big man was sitting up in bed, but he was conscious and had been asking for the pair. Sawako had sent for them. Takeo's booming voice broke the uncomfortable silence between them. "You two! Please, come in here."

The pair entered, and Takeo grinned fiercely. "Lt. Sakamachi! Mr. Konoe! They told me you drove off the other attackers. Good work!"

Jiro was the first to find his voice. "We let you down, sir." Even at that, he found his voice far softer than he wanted.

Subaru filled in for him. "What we mean is, you got hurt. Saving us. We're .. really sorry.."

Jiro wasn't sure what would happen if Subaru started crying, which seemed distinctly possible given the state of her face. He pushed himself between her and Takeo, leaning in to obscure the recuperating pilot's vision. "Sir, Lt. Cmdr. Sunakawa gave us some orders. We're supposed to write a report about the battle."

"Oh! Suna always has good ideas," mused Takeo. "Right! I'll help you…"

He made to remove the restraints with a meaty hand, but Subaru pressed down on it with her own hand. The effort couldn't possibly have stopped Takeo on its own, but he looked up, and softened. "I should wait, shouldn't I."

Subaru nodded mutely, grateful that it wasn't necessary to speak.

"Oh!" Takeo pounded one fist into a cupped palm. "Lt. Sakamachi! Two women gave me a package for you. I forgot to give it to you! I'm sorry!"

"What is it?" Jiro was only too sure who the two women were, but as long as they weren't on board, everything was fine.

"You can find it in my quarters. Oh! That reminds me. I forgot to check quarter assignments."

A new voice chimed in from the door. "I was just here to talk about that." It was Kanade Suzutsuki, with a strange smile on her face. "Lieutenant, since we're going to have to mobilize fast, I talked the captain into moving some quarters around. You'll be bunking with Subaru. Lt. Gouda, you and Lt. Cmdr. Sunakawa are together, by his request."

"Oh! That will be grand!" exclaimed Takeo. "Lt. Sakamachi! Please get along with Mr. Konoe. Even if he is a civilian, please treat him with respect due a fellow officer."

Kanade's smile was teasing, but somehow not cruel. "Yes, Jiro, please observe decorum where my butler is concerned."

Jiro's face was red and turning redder. "But.. why.. what..?" he sputtered.

He barely noticed Subaru shooting a withering glance at Kanade before regaining her poise and coughing quietly. "Yes ma'am. I'll ensure that nothing untoward happens."

"Well!" Kanade clapped Jiro and Subaru on the backs, sending them stumbling slightly forward. "Let's go see how cozy the Navy's idea of quarters really is."

* * *

Captain Kaga had called a general assembly in Hangar B. Everyone was there, except Suna and Tadaya, who would be listening in while they oversaw the ship's vital functions. Banri and Chinami stood next to the captain.

Takeo had made a full recovery, and both Sawako and Rinko were keeping a close eye on him for their own reasons. Shota Kazehaya was watching Sawako, when he could avoid getting caught doing it. Ayane and Chizu were watching Shota watch Sawako, and whispering to each other. Ryuuji and Taiga were in the back, arguing about something. Kanade had her arms around the necks of both Jiro and Subaru, despite the former's evident discomfort and the latter's ill-concealed embarrassment.

"Our original mission has changed," Koko announced, to some groans of displeasure. A quick glare brought an end to such complaints, and she continued unruffled. "We're to lure the enemy away from Crossroads, and other civilian colonies, until we've established more information about who is attacking us, and why."

"For some of you, what's at stake, and who's fighting us, might be unfamiliar." She shot a brief glance at Chinami, who wilted. "The Space Century was inaugurated when mankind left Earth to colonize space permanently. The Earth was becoming uninhabitable. Large stretches of the planet were inhospitable. The oceans were poisoned. The weather itself became a greater enemy than any single nation."

"To reverse that trend, we founded RENEW - Reclaiming Earth's Natural Environmental Wonder. On Earth, we shepherded and protected the native life. In space, we developed technology and harvested the abundant mineral wealth of near-Earth asteroids, the Moon, and the Sun's radiation."

Koko frowned. "Over time, our purposes.. diverged. Earth's RENEW forces became driven more by nativism and matriarchy. Among the colonies, RENEW became less democratic, more authoritarian and patriarchal. The Navy hails from that time."

"ABEL. Avenge Blue Earth's Loss. They began as a splinter faction of RENEW. We believe they've evolved into a terrorist organization, dedicated to attacking the colonies, and allied or at least sympathetic with Earth's RENEW forces. They blame technological civilization for the Earth's fate and intend to drive humanity back to nature - at any cost."

"Earth needs both factions. We need people on the ground, repairing the damage that was done. We need the space colonists, creating tools and doing science to make those repairs possible. If we don't work together, our home world is lost."

Koko looked from face to face. She knew that she was taking the energy out of the room, but what could she do? The crew would need to know what they were facing, and for what they would be sacrificing.

Takeo stood up - Koko thought he had already been, for a moment - and nodded. "Then GUNDAM will protect the Earth," he said, simply and forthrightly. No hesitation, no doubt.

Nearby, Jiro took his feet too. "I'll fight too," he said quietly, but in the stillness of the crowd and the resonance of the hangar made it loud enough for all to hear. Beside him, Subaru was on her feet. "I'm not part of RENEW, but I'm part of the human race. I'll fight."

The others were rising, murmuring their own declarations or echoing earlier ones. As Koko saw face after face rise up, eyes alight, and hear mouth after mouth affirm a dedication to the cause, she felt tears running down her cheeks.

Nearby was Banri, and she glanced sidelong at him. The mysterious order - "extract enemy intelligence" - had made her confused and wary about her XO. Now all she saw was a young man's smiling face, and a brief but decisive nod. I'm with you, his eyes said, and more than that. Koko felt her cheeks redden slightly as she returned her gaze to the rest of the crew.

"Then… We should--"

"Take a picture!"

Koko turned for the source of the voice. It was Chinami Oka. "Captain, I wasn't supposed to be an officer. I applied to be a journalist. They drafted me to join your crew at the last minute. So…. I don't know everything about what's going on. I'm going to ask some stupid questions. I'm sorry. But please.. can we get a picture of everyone? Whether we win or lose, let's keep these memories alive, and share them."

Koko didn't know what to say. Finally the only thing she could say came to her lips.

"Ms. Oka, get your camera ready. Mr. Tada, get Sunakawa and Sato down here, if they can."

Banri grinned. "Right away, ma'am."

By the time the skeleton crew showed up, everyone else had arranged themselves roughly by height into two rows. Chinami had a camera - "I call it the Okamera" - on a tripod and was making adjustments. She hustled the newcomers into a position, then ran to the front row herself and posed.

"Cheese!"

The flash went off, the camera clicked, and a picture of two dozen officers and crewmen, smiling and laughing, with bright eyes and bright futures, was captured forever.

* * *

In space, a single mobile suit drifted well behind Gold Base. Silver Base was far off, but that wasn't the target, not yet. Inside the suit, the man called Echo Recon looked through his mask at the schematics and diagrams before him. The new Pegasus-class ship would be a formidable adversary. Its mobile suits would need to be defeated. ABEL was sending reinforcements. By the time they arrived, Echo Recon would have a battle plan.

Another picture sat in one corner of the work area. It was a woman, well-dressed in RENEW's Naval uniform, captioned "Captain Nana Hayashida - file photo - SC 97/08/01".

The pilot finished his planning, then let his eyes take in the photo.

"Linda. I'm coming for you soon," he whispered.


End file.
